Thank You!

I would like to say thank you to all of my Walden colleagues who have been apart of my journey. So many of you have taken the last few classes with me. You have helped me grow and understand my self better when it comes to education. I thank you for the wonderful feedback and encouragement that you have given me along the way. I would like to wish you all the best of luck in your future classes and careers. I realize that most of us only have three more classes left until we are awarded our master's degree for all of our hard work.

Team Building and Collabortion

When building a team there are five stages that you will go through. The last stage of team building is adjourning. During this stage the group starts to break up and go there own separate ways. I find that the closer a group has become to each other the harder this stage becomes. I was a girl scout until I was 18 years old. I formed very close bonds with the group of girls that were in my troop. When it came time for me to leave the troop I found it very hard. We still keep in contact with each other even though we no longer have to work together to accomplish task. I have always found that when a group runs like a well oiled machine and learns to work with each other on such a high level it is very difficult to leave that group. Groups where you feel used or under valued are the ones that it is very easy to leave. Even though it may be hard to leave a group eventually we have to learn to stand alone. Always depending on others will not help us grow into the people we need to become. Any group that a person works in makes a difference in their life and helps mold a part of their life and that is what being in this program has done for me. I have enjoyed finding out more about myself and my colleagues. Realizing that we are so alike and yet so different. Helping each other along this educational path will be something I will not forget.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

Recentely I got into a disagreement with one of my family members. I have learned that both of us are very strongly oppinonated. When we get into disagreements it can get very heated. I  have learned that I can not talk to him when I am exteremly upset. I usually have to walk away and give myself time to cool down. After about 30 minutes to an hour I can come back and talk to him. I know that talking when am upset may turn into a physical altercation. I try to listen to his point of view and he tries to listen to my point of view. We usually to reach a comprimse on the situation. We really have been using the 3 R's "respectful, reciprocal, and responsive" without even realizing it.

When I am having a conflict with a co-worker I try to listen to their point of view. I find that I don't back down easitly when it comes to things that I feel very passinate about. If a comprimse can't be reached than I will say "I understand where your coming from but I still don't agree and if you feel that way I am sorry. " I know that sometimes you can't reach an agreemnt with someone. You have to realize that all situations will not be solved with everyone being happy.

Who am I as a communicator?

This week we were asked to take three quizzes. The quizzes evaluated communication anxiety, verbal aggression, and listening style. When I took the communication anxiety quiz I scored in the mild range. This is at no surprise to me. I find it easy to speak in public situations. I have also found that when I am in a group I usually end up being the group spokesman. Taking the listening style quiz I scored in group 1. Group 1 means that I am a people oriented person and a good listener. The only thing that surprised me was the results from the third quiz for verbal aggression. When I took the verbal aggression quiz I scored in the moderate range, but when one of the people I asked to judge me took the quiz I scored in the significant range. I found that I am very verbally aggressive toward that person. I hadn't realized that I act differently toward him. I feel that I need to pay more attention to how I treat that particular person. As a teacher I always want to make sure all of my children are being treated with the same respect. Maybe I should apply this same rule in all of the other parts of my life.